Fly Africa unveils expansion plan

Business Reporter LOW-cost airline, Fly Africa, is set to introduce the Bulawayo-Johannesburg route next month as part of its expansion programme aimed at servicing more routes on the African continent.The airline is already selling tickets for the route, which it will service daily.

The airline’s country manager, Matipedza Karase, yesterday said the Bulawayo–Johannesburg route flight would start on March 2.

“We’re starting on the 2nd of March and we already have plans to introduce the Johannesburg–Windhoek (Namibia) route, Harare-Lusaka (Zambia), Harare-Lubumbashi (DRC), Victoria Falls–Cape Town (SA) and Victoria Falls-Kilimanjaro (Tanzania),” he told Business Chronicle.

Karase said his airline was sensitive to customer needs hence its low cost approach, which is aimed at making air travel affordable while providing efficient and quality service.

He said their business model was working smoothly and admitted that more needed to be done to improve.

Karase said the airline’s expansion has created jobs for locals and reported that a 24-member Zimbabwe cabin crew had been recruited in the past six months.

He said the crew had been trained on quality service especially provision of good security.

Fly Africa, which is a partnership between the Karase family’s Fresh Air and Mike Bond of the now defunct One Time of South Africa, began operations last year.

It introduced its first aircraft, Z-FAA, last August servicing the Victoria Falls-Johannesburg route and flying three times a week on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The airline has since increased its frequency to four times a week to include Mondays.

The introduction of more airlines operating in the country was aimed at complementing the national airline, Air Zimbabwe, as the tourism sector makes efforts to increase tourist arrivals.

The airline, which is already servicing the Harare-Victoria Falls route, intends to increase its frequency from three times per week to daily flights.